


bloom

by pleasydeasy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 12:41:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasydeasy/pseuds/pleasydeasy
Summary: Nico doesn't like parties but he likes Jason.





	bloom

The party is loud — Nico can practically feel the beat in his body, and all the yelling isn’t exactly helping on his hearing either. He doesn’t even know why he’s still here, really, he only came because Hazel asked him to socialize more and he lost her a half hour ago and she probably wouldn’t even notice if he left, but —

But he’s still here, leaning against the wall in some house in New Rome, watching the party, watching Percy and Annabeth completely wrap themselves around each other, watching Piper and Leo exchange whispers mixed with drunken laughter. It’s a familiar feeling, standing on the outskirts, watching what is happening but never really participating. Tomorrow most of them probably won’t remember he was even here. 

Self-pity is a sneaking, sly feeling that often disguises itself as other things and it has taken Nico a long time to realize that it doesn’t help him and it never will. Sure, a lot of his life is a painful, dark mess, but a good amount of the time his own mind is his worst enemy. _Stop it,_ he thinks. _You have friends here and they would be really pissed at you if they knew you were thinking like this. They’re probably looking for you right now._

He really should go find Hazel. It’s just that he doesn’t want to interrupt her and Frank, whom he assumes she’s with. Had Reyna been here, he would’ve gone to her, but she had preator duty tonight. (Her job kind of really sucks, but that’s beside the point.) He’d better stay here, where he is certainly _not_ feeling sorry for himself. No sir. 

Someone taps his shoulder. He turns and is faced with Jason’s tall figure. Jason grins down at him.

«Hey, man!» he half-yells over the music, leaning down so Nico can hear him better (also rubbing it in his face that Nico is _that_ much shorter than him, but, okay, that’s just Nico being petty). 

«What’s up?» Nico says, crossing his arms, trying not to be affected by Jason’s smile. Jason says something, but it’s barely audible over the music. «What?» Nico says, raising his voice.

Jason grins again and motions for Nico to follow him, then turns around and heads for the hall. Nico is left for a second, contemplating whether he should leave his cosy ( _not_ self-pitying) wall and hang out with Jason, which will inevitably pull him out of his slightly angsty mood, because Jason just has that effect on him. 

And Nico kind of hates how much he likes it. It ruins his reputation, okay? How is he supposed to be some sort of dark and scary prince of the dead if Jason constantly has to go and make him smile? And it’s not really that Jason is such a happy go-go type, himself, he just has this _way_ of making Nico feel soft and quietly happy, like his life doesn’t weigh as heavy on his shoulders as it usually does.

 _Fuck it_ , Nico thinks. It’s not like he was ever really considering staying behind anyway. It’s not like he’s ever able to say no to Jason, as much as he’d like to think so. 

He heads for the hall where Jason is waiting for him. «Where are we going?» he yells, but Jason just shakes his head, grabs Nico’s hand and pulls him with him. And, okay, they’ve already established that Jason no longer has to ask to touch Nico, because it honest to god doesn’t ever bother Nico when he does it. (He has no idea why. It’s just one of these things that are reserved for Jason.) BUT now they’re holding _hands_ which Nico certainly didn’t see coming. And the warmth that is slowly spreading throughout his stomach — that was quite unforeseen, too. 

They go into a room — still dark, but lighter — and Jason closes the door behind them so the music is muffled. Nico lets go of his hand and puts his own in his pockets. 

«What are we doing here?» he asks, wondering how to stand so he doesn’t look as awkward as he feels. He wonders if he’s glowing from the handholding. If he is, it’s really unfair that Jason looks so casual. 

«I was actually kind of getting a headache from the music and you looked kind of… tired, too,» Jason says, sitting down crosslegged on the floor. When Nico still stands, he motions for him to sit down. Nico does so, stiffly, and envies other people’s ability to things… non-awkwardly. Jason looks calm, as always, resting his hands on his knees. He lacks Leo’s nervous energy and Percy’s restlessness. Nico has always found Jason very soothing to be around for that reason. 

«And I’ve been looking for you since I came here,» Jason says. Nico looks up, surprised, and meets Jason’s eyes. In the brighter light, he can see contours of his face better, his little scar, his messy hair, static from electricity. 

«Well, you’re not a very good finder,» he says. «I’ve been in the same spot for an hour.»

Jason smiles and his eyes crinkle. «Sorry. I was getting pretty close when this girl started drunk-crying, like, out of nowhere. And you know, crying kind of freaks me out…» 

«Of course,» Nico nods, «you can’t be a true hero unless you’re freaked out by some good crying.»

«Shut up, you weren’t there. Anyway, she starts full-on sobbing, me being me has no idea what to do and I end up sitting there for thirty minutes trying to comfort her about her awful math exam.» Jason shakes his head. «I did not do a great job. Though eventually her friend came and I was finally excused.»

«Poor thing,» Nico says and pats Jason’s hand. Jason swats his hand away and laughs. 

«Shut up,» he says again, his eyes glittering. 

Nico leans back on his hands, unable to contain a smile. It’s ridiculous how easy it is to be with Jason. He doubts he’s ever had a casual conversation with Percy that lasted for more than three minutes and didn’t lead to either of them wanting to die from the awkwardness. 

«What’ve you been doing?» Jason asks.

«The usual. Suffering in silence,» Nico replies, earning him another laugh. 

«Right, I forgot you’re always thriving at parties,» Jason says. 

«You know me,» Nico says, shrugging. «The party doesn’t start till I arrive.»

Jason hums and leans a bit forward. In a moment of boldness, Nico does so too, until their faces are so close he can see Jason’s eyelashes, and probably count them if he wanted. The music from the party is still going, but the world is gloriously quiet for a moment. All Nico can really hear are Jason’s soft breaths, and maybe his own heartbeat. 

Jason opens his mouth, as if to say something, then closes it again, looking unsure for the first time since they came here. 

«Wha—,» Nico starts to say, but he’s interrupted by Jason pressing his lips against his. 

For a moment he’s too surprised to do anything. His mind is completely blank, except for a small part that keeps chanting _holy fuck holy fuck holy fuuuuck,_ but then Jason moves a bit, leaning closer and reaching up to touch his jaw, and suddenly Nico’s muscles work. 

He kisses back, softly, hesitatingly, feeling his skin tingle everywhere Jason is touching him, the ghost of his fingers across Nico’s cheek, the hand sliding through his hair. Jason kisses like he acts, gently but firmly. It’s kind of insanely good, and Nico is about to throw every bit of dignity out the window and just completely go nuts when Jason pulls back, looking flushed and dark-eyed and slightly nervous.

«I’m sorry, are you sure you want-,» he starts to say, but Nico shuts him up by kissing him again. Jason makes a noise that might be surprise, or maybe pleasure, and curls his hand in Nico’s shirt.

The kiss deepens and the warm feeling in his gut returns. When Jason puts a hand on his jaw, Nico decides that he could do this forever. 

But because fate is a cruel mistress, the door bursts open approximately 0.2 seconds after his thought, and he starts back. He meets Jason’s eyes for a split second and then he looks up at the door. Piper is grinning down at them, seemingly unsurprised. 

«Hey, boys,» she says, leaning on the doorframe. «Are you having fun?»

Nico looks back at Jason, bewildered by Piper’s casualness. To his surprise, Jason doesn’t seem embarrassed either. He shrugs and sends Piper an easy smile. 

«Just chilling,» he says and grabs Nico’s hand. His touch sends sparks up Nico’s arms. 

«I see,» Piper says. «Well, be safe.»

Jason flips her off, to which she only grins wider. In a whirlwind she’s out of the door, smacking it closed behind her. Jason rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. 

«Well,» Nico says. Jason looks at him, still smiling, but differently. «It’s not every day you get interrupted kissing a boy by your ex-girlfriend.»

Jason laughs. «I guess not.»

«She’s cool with it?»

«Yup,» Jason says. Nico waits for a further explanation, but Jason doesn’t offer one. Instead, he turns Nico’s hand and traces the lines of his palm, leaving a trail of sensation. Nico feels his cheeks heat for some reason, and prays Jason doesn’t see him blushing at such a simple gesture. But Jason isn’t looking up, only down at their joined hands and Nico is surprised to see his cheeks rosy as well. 

«Did you…» Nico clears his throat, reworking the night’s events in his mind. «Why did you kiss me?»

Jason looks up at him finally, his blue eyes as open as they ever are. Nico has always liked Jason best like this, sincere and softened, his calm less of a protecting facade than a picture of almost complete vulnerability. 

«Uh,» Jason says, evidently looking for the right words. He once told Nico that he had a hard time learning to speak when he was little because of his time with Lupa when he was so young, and that it therefore often feels like language disagrees with him. It’s only when he’s like this, though, distracted and exposed, that Nico notices. «You didn’t notice? That I liked you?»

 _Not in a million years would I let myself assume that,_ Nico thinks. Out loud, he says: «No.»

«Hm. And here I thought I was being obvious.»

«Not really.»

«Well, I do,» Jason says, and his cheeks pink again, along with his ears. It’s unexpectedly charming. He’s quiet for a moment, and then: «And… what about you?»

«Me?» Nico asks quietly.

«Well, I mean… how do you feel about me?»

Nico considers. Instead of looking at Jason, he studies their hands, the careful way Jason’s is wrapped around his and the contrast of their skin tones. He used to compare every boy to Percy, whose heroic selflessness and green eyes drew Nico into a world of longing for something that could never be. He used to think no feelings were truly real if they weren't as intense and painful as the ones he had for Percy. 

But Jason is the steady anchor in his life. He’s the light in the dark, not protecting him, exactly, but helping him find his way around. He’s become someone that Nico looks forward to seeing every day, someone whose endless optimism balances Nico’s chronic pessimism. Before Jason, Nico had forgotten what it was like to feel wanted. 

It’s an easy decision, really. It was never even a question. 

He looks up at Jason and smiles. «I thought _I_ was being obvious.»

A smile slowly blooms at Jason’s face as flowers bloom in Nico’s stomach.

**Author's Note:**

> These boys are cute!


End file.
